HK UMP

The UMP (Universal Machinen-Pistole – Universal Submachine Gun) had been developed by the Heckler & Koch company of Germany in the mid- to late- 1990s and first appeared on the markets in 1999. The key idea behind the UMP was to ceate lightweight and powerful submachine gun, that also will be cheaper than one of the J&K’s flagships, the MP-5. UMP, being targeted primary for USA law enforcement market, first appeared in .45ACP and .40SW chamberings, and later – in 9mm.

The UMP is a blowback-operated select-fire submachine gun, being fired from the closed bolt. The receiver is made from the polymer, the controls are fully ambidextrous. UMP can be fired in full-auto, in single shots, and in 2 or 3 round bursts (optional). UMP also has bolt hold-open device, which traps the bolt in the open position when the last round from magazine had been fired. UMP has side-folding buttstock and two set of picatinny rails – one on the top of the receiver, and the other – on the forend. These rails can accept wide variety of sighting and other equipment, such as red-dot sights, laser pointers, tactical grips and flashlights.The barrel has quick mount for snap-on silencer.

As originally designed, the UMP is chambered for larger cartridges (.45 ACP and .40 S&W) than other submachine guns like the MP5, to provide more stopping power against unarmored targets (with slightly lower effectiveness at longer range) than the MP5 (largely offered in9x19mm, albeit with short-lived production of 10mm Auto and .40 S&W variants). A larger cartridge produces more recoil, and makes control more difficult in fully automatic firing. To mitigate this, the cyclic rate of fire was reduced to 650 rounds/min (600 rounds/min for the UMP45), which makes it one of the slower firing submachine guns on the market.

The UMP9 (the 9x19mm version of the UMP) is almost 0.2 kilograms (0.44 lb) lighter than its MP5 counterpart. Its predominantly polymer construction reduces both its weight and the number of parts susceptible to corrosion.

The UMP is available in four trigger group configurations, featuring different combinations ofsemi-automatic, 2-round burst, fully automatic, and safe settings. It features a side-foldingbuttstock to reduce its length during transport. When the last round of the UMP is fired, the bolt locks open, and can be released via a catch on the left side. The standard viewing sights are composed of an aperture rear sight and a front ring with a vertical post. It can mount fourPicatinny rails (one on top of the receiver, and one on the right, left, and the bottom of thehandguard) for the attachment of accessories such as optical sights, flashlights, or laser sights. Vertical fore-grips can be attached to the bottom rail for increased control during burst and automatic fire.

Variants

There are three versions of the UMP: the UMP45, firing a .45 ACP cartridge; the UMP40, firing a .40 S&W cartridge; and the UMP9, firing a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. Apart from the different chambering, all versions feature the same basic design, the most noticeable difference being the curved magazine used on the UMP9 (whereas the UMP40 and UMP45 use a straight magazine). All three versions of the weapon can be converted to any of the available chamberings via replacement of the bolt, barrel, and magazine.

The USC or Universal Self-loading Carbine is a semi-automatic version of the UMP that is available to private citizens for sporting purposes. It was designed following the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 in the United States and conforms to those standards. Changes from the original UMP include a “thumbhole” type stock and grip (versus the pistol grip of the UMP, though aesthetically there is little difference), longer barrel (no flash suppressor), limited 10-round magazine, and semi-automatic only trigger group and action. Originally available in gray, as of early 2007 the USC comes only in an all-black finish.